Differences between literature review and annotated bibliography

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Differences between literature review and annotated bibliography

Let us witness some major differences between both academic terms.

    1. Purpose

      Here lies the biggest difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography. A literature review provides a broader overview of the topic to its readers. This is the reason that it comes just after the introduction of the topic so that readers can know everything they want to, as per the existing research. To provide this overview, a typical review will assess the strong and vulnerable points of its sources.
      On the other hand, an annotated bibliography serves to provide a list of citations with a brief summary or evaluation of each source immediately following it. Essentially, it is a detailed version of a bibliography that includes additional information about each source. An annotated bibliography typically appears at the end of a research paper or as a separate document. In contrast to a traditional bibliography, which simply lists sources, an annotated bibliography adds value to the research by providing a summary of the content and significance of each source.

    2. Structure

      The structure of a literature review and an annotated bibliography differs in several ways. Literature reviews typically follow a prose structure, with the author discussing the various sources identified in paragraphs. While there may be no specific order in which the sources are described, the author often discusses them from the most significant to the least significant.
      On the other hand, annotated bibliographies usually have a more systematic structure. The sources are usually arranged alphabetically, much like a regular reference list. Each source is accompanied by a short paragraph providing a summary of its content and relevance to the research topic, paper, or assignment. In contrast to literature reviews, there is generally no extensive analysis or discussion of the sources in an annotated bibliography, with a concise summary being considered sufficient in most cases.

    3. Referencing

      Referencing a literature review and an annotated bibliography differ significantly. For a literature review, the focus is usually on adding the necessary in-text citations according to the requested citation style. This is usually sufficient.
      In contrast, referencing an annotated bibliography requires a full citation or reference to be written first, followed by a summary or evaluation. Annotated bibliographies generally do not have in-text citations since they are primarily a summary of sources.

    4. Writing

      The way a literature review and an annotated bibliography are written differs significantly. In a literature review, the author generally discusses the body of literature as a whole, mentioning sources specifically and recalling them later in the review. In contrast, an annotated bibliography must be written with great precision. The full citation or reference is written first, followed by a brief summary or evaluation. This pattern is repeated for each source in the bibliography, without mixing sources or annotations.

Published by Henry